


It's So Hard to Be Beautiful

by thatoneperson



Series: crossed the stars [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Manipulative Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-09-20 05:12:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9477086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatoneperson/pseuds/thatoneperson
Summary: Lance and Lotor meet at a spa and find they have some things in common.





	

**Author's Note:**

> so this entire fic owes its existence to [this](http://hardlynotnever.tumblr.com/post/156235472525/i-want-a-funnycute-episode-where-lance-and-lotor) piece of art
> 
> this fic is also posted on tumblr [ here](http://stopmeplease.tumblr.com/post/156392335646/its-so-hard-to-be-beautiful)

Lance bounced eagerly in his seat as he watched the slowly diminishing queue of aliens between him and an honest to god space spa day. He could not believe Allura had agreed to let to him accept the grateful princess’s offer. Diplomacy was great when it let him get what he wanted. It wasn’t every day he saved a beautiful princess, like a real hero, and then she even noticed and appreciated how much work he put into looking good. She may not have decided to come with him, but this was definitely shaping into the best mission since he had become a paladin.

Even just the waiting room for the spa was gorgeous. The walls glittered with polished sea shell fragments set into intricate patterns on the wall while some sort of glowing blue stone was set in a chandelier to cast everything in a soothing blue light. The giant plush chairs sat facing the gently splashing fountain set in the center of the room. This was a spa made to cater to royalty. Lance suppressed a little squeal of delight as one of the attendants glided over to him.

“Our sincerest apologies, Sir Lance,” she said gently, her gaze held at a point just below his eyes, “but there has been a slight error. Your reservation was merged with another’s, and you’re now sharing a massage room. It will be a bit of a wait to get you your original reservation back.”

“It’s fine! I can share,” Lance said brightly. “There’s a whole lot of things I’d do for a lovely lady like yourself,” he purred as he leaned towards her.

“Thank you for your understanding,” she chirped, expression unchanged. “If you would follow me?” She turned towards one of the curtained doorways with a deliberate slowness.

Lance lept to his feet and trailed after her with barely restrained eagerness. He was getting his spa day! Now he’d have a mysterious alien partner. Maybe she’d be another woman from this planet. He admired the white waterfall of hair cascading over the attendant’s back, contrasting beautifully against her teal skin. He certainly wouldn’t mind spending more time with the local ladies. He’d almost rather spend time with them than in the spa. Almost.

The attendant led him into a dimly lit room where someone was waiting for a massage. A fairly broad shouldered and flat chested someone, from what little Lance could see. Their pale hair haloed around their head and space had a decent number of buff ladies though, so Lance still had a shot.

“Please, lay here.” The attendant gestured to the other massage table. “Your masseuses will be with you both shortly, and we thank you again for your patience.” She left with a short bow.

“Hey. I’m Lance” Lance reclined against the massage table. “Do you come here often, beautiful?”

“I am Lotor,” the other figure announced. “Indeed I do. The mermorian face mask here is the key to maintaining my radiant skin.”

Lance huffed a quiet laugh. Well, at least his new massage buddy was friendly. 

“What’s a mermorian mask for? I’ve never to this spa specifically, so I’d love some recommendations.” Lance stared at the luminescent patterns swirling across the ceiling and let himself relax into the cushions on the table.

“It rejuvenates my skin like you would not believe. My work is a stressful business, which is just terrible for my skin, but this undoes basically all of the damage. It also clears up pores and smoothes skin on most species.” Lotor throws one of his hands up against his temple and sighs dramatically as he reminisces on the rigors of conquering the universe.

“I feel you,” Lance groans, “I have been so stressed lately, and the masks I can make from the stuff in the ship just aren’t keeping up with my needs.” Being a paladin was amazing, and Lance absolutely wouldn’t give it up, but he really did need to get his hands on some proper skincare products. Homemade products worked better when you didn’t have to guess on substitutes for every single ingredient.

“It is quite hard to get a reservation for a mermorian mask,” Lotor drawled thoughtfully, “but I have one after my massage. If you wished, I could convince the staff to let you join me.”

“Oh man, thanks! That’d be amazing,” said Lance. A spa day was always better with someone else, but none of the other paladins had had the time or interest. _Sofia had always been down to find any excuse for a day of pampering_ , Lance thought with a familiar flash of longing.

“You are welcome, Lance.” Lotor sighed wistfully. “Truthfully, it’s been awhile since I’ve had the company of someone who understood the importance of taking care of themselves. Your presence would be a boon to me.”

Lance swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat, but was spared from answering by the arrival of the masseuses. He pulled his robe off and set it to the side at their silent prompting, as did Lotor. Lance couldn’t help but notice that Lotor was really, really fit. He definitely knew how to take care of himself.

“Please turn over,” they chirped as they began warming some oil in their hands. Lance shot a bright smile at Lotor before complying, settling his face into the hole in the massage table. His masseuse settled a blanket over the lower half of his body and went to work.

 _Oooh, she is definitely a professional_ , Lance thought as he melted into the massage table. He’d had some great massages back on Earth, but this one was a league above any of them. Libenda was a great planet, and he absolutely had to come back. The masseuse started in on all the knots in his shoulders. He was definitely going to do whatever it took to come back.

Lance lost all track of time while he lay there blissed out, but eventually all good things must end. The masseuse toweled the excess oil from his body and politely informed him his massage was done and left while he was still gathering himself.

“Oh my god,” Lance whispered, “that was amazing.”

Lotor laughed. “Libendans are famous for their massages for a reason.” He dressed with the efficiency of someone who hadn’t just spent the last hour being massaged into a relaxed paste. Lance was kinda jealous.

“Are you going to come with me or not?” Lotor stared bemusedly as Lance slunk off his table and into his robe with all the urgency of a snail.

“I’m coming. I’m coming,” Lance grumbled, a small smile tugging at his lips. “How can you move so fast? I feel like I’m made of jello.” He stretched out, reveling in how relaxed he felt.

“What is Jello?” Lotor gave a smile just shy of wicked and rested one of his hands against Lance’s waist. “I will carry you, if you find it so hard to walk.”

Lance gently nudged his elbow into Lotor’s stomach—and wow, Lotor was really tall standing up—and laughed.

“I can walk! And jello is a super jiggly dessert on my planet.” He turned to get a proper look at his new friend out in the light of the hallway and nearly tripped on his own feet.

“You’re… Galran,” Lance choked out, backing into the wall.

“Ah, I had wondered why you were so friendly.” Lotor’s entire body seemed to droop. “I suppose you too find me repulsive because of my race.”

Lance winced as the guilt flooded in. Lotor had been nothing but friendly, and Lance had no reason to suspect him of anything. Lotor didn’t even know he was a paladin of Voltron, to start with. “No! You’re not repulsive. You’re really, really not repulsive,” said Lance, looking at the long line of Lotor’s neck and his soft, silky looking hair draped over his shoulders. “I was just surprised. You’re not a lot like most the Galra I’ve met.”

“Well, it is true I’m not a typical Galra.” Lotor laughed. “I’m glad to hear I haven’t lost you yet. I was looking forward to your company.” He put his hand on Lance’s cheek. “Thank you for giving me a chance,” he said, looking at Lance softly.

“You’re a good guy,” said Lance, “and also I just really want a mermorian mask, so let’s get going.” Lance pushed his hands against Lotor’s chest, which might as well have been the wall behind him for all the good it did.

Lotor gave a rumbling chuckle, deep in his chest. “Then let’s not keep the estheticians waiting any longer.” He strode down the corridor with a cheerful bounce in his step with Lance trailing beside him.

———————————–

“You really don’t mind sharing the bed,” Lance said, eyeing the narrow space speculatively. It didn’t look big enough for the both of them. Lotor had convinced the attendants to change the single person face mask treatment into a two person treatment, but it was too late to get a two person room.

“I really don’t mind at all,” Lotor purred. Lotor was practically beaming, in fact.

 _How lonely was he, before this, to be so happy to have_ my _company_ , Lance wondered while he fiddled idly with his new white bathrobe. Outwardly, he just shrugged. “If you’re sure.”

“I am absolutely sure.” Lotor settled into the right side of the bed and patted the empty space next to him.

Lance was definitely right when he thought that the bed might be too small. Lance wound up laying half on the bed and half on top of Lotor. Lotor was still beaming though, so it worked out. Lotor was warm, and his skin was so soft to the touch, so Lance supposed he wasn’t having a bad time either.

“Have you got anything planned after this?” Lance questioned with the careful nonchalance of someone deeply invested in the answer.

“Well, there are still the mineral springs and a hair treatment I had planned for the day.” Lotor nuzzled his cheek against Lance’s forehead. “You are welcome to join me for both or either of them.”

 _What a touchy guy_ , Lance thought, It can’t be easy to be such a tactile Galra. He gently nudged his forehead against Lotor’s cheek and smiled. “Both sounds pretty good to me. Everything about a spa day gets better with a buddy.”

“Indeed, my day has been greatly improved by your presence,” Lotor purred, and Lance could feel the vibration of those words against his back.

Lance couldn’t have hid his smile if he had wanted to. “Yeah, I’m glad we met too. Lucky us they messed up our reservations, huh?” Lance could feel Lotor’s smile against his skin.

“I believe this meeting of ours was more fate than luck. I don’t believe that there was a chance I could have gone through my life without meeting you.” Lotor moved the arm underneath Lance so Lance was now more on Lotor than on the bed, and his hand wrapped around Lance’s hip.

 _A really, really touchy guy_ , Lance thought, flushing pink.

Then the estheticians showed up with slices of space cucumbers. Lance was at a space spa full of aliens and they used space cucumbers to cover their eyes, just like back on Earth. He stifled his giggles as his esthetician patiently put the space cucumbers over his eyes and then began gently coating his face with the bright blue mermorian mask. It smelled almost like lavender and something vaguely fruity.

Like this, he could almost pretend he was back on Earth, except for the warmth of Lotor against him. He couldn’t quite to decide whether he was grateful or resentful to Lotor for keeping him grounded. Ah well, he could tip the odds in Lotor’s favor. This face mask was amazing. Combined with the massage earlier, he could barely remember what stress felt like. This was so relaxing he might very well fall asleep.

———————————–

Lance awoke to the feel of a warm washcloth on his face. He actually had fallen asleep. Well, it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it coming. It probably hadn’t helped that his sleep schedule had been shot by his earlier adventure. Rescuing the princess was necessary, and he would absolutely do it again, but it hadn’t been kind on his body. That… might have been part of why the princess sent him here, come to think of it.

He could feel her washing a bit of the face mask out of his hair and then she was done. He stretched out against Lotor before swinging himself over the edge of the bed. He felt good.

“I feel good,” Lance said brightly as he turned back towards Lotor.

“You look good too,” Lotor said, stretching out over the bed like a cat. He was honestly kind of cute right now.

“Right back atcha!” Lance shot a pair of fingerguns towards Lotor. “Seriously, your skin is glowing. Though it’s not like we didn’t have quality material to work with from the start.” Lance pressed his hand over his chest and gave his cockiest grin.

Lotor just sat there, smiling at him.

Lance coughed into his hand and looked away. “Anyway, where to next?”

“I had scheduled some time in the mineral springs, but after our nap I’m not sure we’re awake enough for that,” Lotor said lightly.

“We’ll just have to keep each other awake, then. I’m definitely not missing out on the mineral springs,” Lance proclaimed, already walking towards the door.

Lotor sighed and stretched out the last of his stiffness. “Well then, I suppose I’ll just have to go enjoy the springs too.”

“Oh, what a sacrifice you’re making for me,” Lance cried, fluttering his eyelashes dramatically while he pressed one hand to his chest.

“You’re absolutely worth a bigger sacrifice than this,” Lotor said laughingly. “Also, the springs are the other direction.”

Lance spun on the ball of his foot and continued forward nonchalantly. “Thanks, man. Back home my sense of direction is pretty good, but it’s a bit easier to get lost on a foreign planet.”

“Where are you from, by the way? I don’t think you ever mentioned,” Lotor questioned.

“Oh man, have I not told you about Earth?” Lance said, face lighting up with enthusiasm. “It’s the best planet; I mean it obviously produced some amazing people.” Lance puffed up his chest proudly with a bright grin.

“Obviously,” Lotor agreed. Lance stumbled slightly enough that Lotor would have missed it if he weren’t looking carefully. “If there are many more like you on Earth I may have to pay the planet a visit.”

“I dunno man, I’m pretty unique as far as Earthlings go. I don’t think the universe could handle too much Lance,” Lance said jokingly. He started tracing the seashell patterns along the hallway, looking away from Lotor.

“I can’t imagine having too much Lance,” Lotor said firmly. “In fact, after we get our possessions back, we should trade Corre tags.”

Lance had to jog to catch up to Lotor after processing that. “I mean, I’d love to, but, uh, I don’t have a Corre tag? All I’ve got is an Earth phone, which doesn’t really work in space.”

Lotor tapped his finger against his chin thoughtfully. “Well, that won’t do at all. I suppose I’ll just have to buy you a Corredev,” he said with deliberate casualness.

“Wha— Dude, you really don’t have—” Lance began.

“Oh look!” Lotor interrupted, “There’s the springs right there.” He grabbed Lance’s shoulders and guided him to an opulent doorway made of a white stone carved to look like steam.

“Oh, nice!” said Lance, perking up. “But, uh, back to the Corredev issue—”

“Please, Lance,” Lotor interrupted again, “let me get one for you. Money is not an object, and you can hardly blame me for wanting to keep you in my life, can you?”

“I mean, yeah, I’m amazing, but an intergalatic communicator seems like sort of a big deal,” Lance said uneasily, hanging his bathrobe next to Lotor’s on the provided hooks.

Lotor pressed his hand against the wall to reveal a drawer just full of hair and skin care products. “You can use my hair cleansing and conditioning products,” Lotor said, eyeing Lance with a deliberate casualness. “The ones they provide here are acceptable if you have nothing, but mine are better.” He drew out a little basket of brightly colored bottles with labels in a multitude of languages that Lance didn’t understand.

“You’re gonna have to tell me which ones are which because I can read none of that,” Lance said, skeptically eyeing a bright green bottle with a cartoonish skeleton mascot with too many joints and too few fingers.

“Of course, Lance,” Lotor purred, placing one hand on Lance’s bare shoulder, “I want nothing more than to help. I only offer a Corredev because I want to keep talking to you. It really would be a favor to me if you would accept it.” He guided Lance down into a round tiled room with a gentle cascade of water falling into the center and disappearing into the floor.

“I—” Lance began hesitantly.

“Please, Lance,” Lotor said, placing a white bottle in Lance’s hand, “for me.” He pushed Lance towards the center of the room. “Get your hair wet and use that one to cleanse your hair. It’s quite gentle and leaves my hair so glossy afterwards.”

“Thanks,” huffed Lance. He stood under the waterfall, a little warmer than his usual showers but not unbearable and it had a great water pressure, and set about to following Lotor’s stream of instructions.

 _I suppose, if he really can afford it, it wouldn’t hurt to have a way to keep in touch with everyone I meet_ , Lance thought. Lotor stood next to Lance, hair clinging to the long line of his back as he washed himself. _It might be nice to see him again sometime_ , thought Lance, focusing on the sensations of the shower with a sudden intensity.

“This would be the best body wash for your skin,” Lotor said, reading the label of a black bottle. “Here.” He passed it to Lance, plucking the previous bottle from his hands and setting it back in the basket. The motion called Lance’s attention to the water droplets trailing down Lotor’s toned arms. Lance should definitely ask about his fitness routine soon, like damn.

“If you really wanna get me a communicator, I suppose it couldn’t hurt to have one,” Lance said, watching Lotor’s reaction out of the corner of his eye. Lotor lit up like someone told him Galra Christmas was coming early.

Would the Galra even have a Christmas equivalent? Lance couldn’t imagine Zarkon letting anyone place anyone as more important than him. Would Galra Christmas be Zarkon’s birthday? That’d be… interesting.

“Excellent!” Lotor said, startling Lance out of his thoughts, “I know a shop not too far from here. We can get one after we leave the spa.” He grabbed Lance’s free hand with both of his own, and leaned in closely. “You’ve made me very happy,” Lotor purred.

“Me too,” said Lance brightly as his gaze darted to the side. “You’re a great friend, but, uh, you’re a little close right now.” A disappointed look flickered on Lotor’s face just quick enough that Lance missed it by the time he turned back towards Lotor.

Lotor leaned back with a vaguely agreeable noise and let go of Lance’s hands. “Tell me more of your Earth.”

“Well, I’m a country called Cuba,” Lance said wistfully, “we had some gorgeous beaches, and nothing could beat the pizzerias facing the ocean. I used to go surfing with my siblings basically whenever the waves were good.” Lance laughed. “Of course, that didn’t mean we could get out of helping around the house. Mami was magic when it came to finding out when we were slacking.”

“Mmhm?” Lotor encouraged, putting everything away and nudging Lance towards the springs proper.

“Oh man, she was the best. She freaked out a bit when I said I wanted to enroll in the Galaxy Garrison. It was so far away from home, and being a pilot wasn’t exactly the safest career in the world, but once I went through all the ‘yes, I really wanna do this’ questions,’ she was so supportive.” Lance sighed fondly. “She gave the best hugs too, and no one could beat her ropa vieja.”

“What?” said Lotor flatly.

“What?” said Lance. “Oh, the translators, right. Don’t mind the name; it’s a food, and it’s delicious.” He turned to look out over the springs that looked a bit green under the blue lighting. Steam rose off the pool in wisps, and it looked like the spa had been built around the springs as opposed to the other way around.

Lotor laughed. “I’ll take your word on that, I suppose. I don’t think Earth cuisine is common on Libenda.”

Lance laughed weakly. “Yeah, it’s… not really common anywhere but home, that I’ve seen. I would kill a man for some decent pastelitos de guayaba con queso blanco at this point.” Lance sunk into the water with a groan. “This feels amazing. I’m never getting out.”

Lotor slid into the spot next to Lance. “If you relax anymore I’m going to have to get a bucket to carry you out.”

“I think it’s time to welcome Lance the human puddle into your life,” Lance said with mock solemnity, sinking deeper into the water. Where where all the other patrons? The springs were definitely big enough to be communal, and it seemed like this would be a popular spot.

Lotor hummed noncommittally and slid every so slightly closer. “I’ll just have to get you a lovely bucket then, pure verandium to match your eyes.”

“You sure know how to treat a guy right,” joked Lance. He closed his eyes and nestled against a crevice in the rocks lining the springs.

“No sleeping,” said Lotor, gently nudging Lance.

“Right!” said Lance, his eyes popping open. He laughed. “If I pass out in a hot springs I will definitely regret it.”

“Oh?” Lotor tilted his head inquisitively. It was surprisingly cute even with his chiseled features.

“Well, I mean I could drown if I pass out in water,” Lance explained, “and overheating is a thing that can happen when you stay in water too long, but mostly I’d just get really wrinkly.” Pulling himself slightly out of the water. Everything was really, really warm today. Lance eyed Lotor speculatively. He’d felt pretty warm while they were getting their face masks. Maybe since they were on his reservation everything had been set to cater to his body temperature?

“I’d best be careful with you then,” Lotor purred, “I want our time together to be full of good memories.” Lotor was close enough that their thighs were touching under the water. Lance determinedly held Lotor’s gaze and didn’t look down.

“So far you’ve done a pretty good job. I’ve been having a great time.” Lance smiled. “There’s no one else who could have given me such great skincare tips, I’m sure.”

Lotor puffed up proudly. “Of course! No one else knows more about skincare across the universe or how those products work. I am the best guide you could have wished for.”

“I’d have you beat if you ever came to Earth, though,” Lance teased.

Lotor hummed. “Indeed, you would. I suppose we will just have to go and visit your planet sometime.”

“I—” Lance started, voice cracking. “Yeah, the next time I have the opportunity to go to Earth I’ll invite you along.” Lance smiled wryly. “So, what’s your planet like?”

Lotor hummed distantly. “I can’t say I miss it like your miss your Earth. I haven’t been there since I was a child. I went to a military boarding school on a neighboring planet, but everything didn’t work out quite how my father hoped, and so now I spend my days relaxing at spas with Earthlings,” Lotor said with a determined flippancy.

“Doesn’t sound like much fun,” Lance remarked, “but I’ve gotta say I’m glad your life brought you here. I’d have missed having a spa buddy.” Lance bumped his shoulder against Lotor’s with a fond smile. Lotor laughed delightedly.

“Well, time for the next part of our spa day.” Lotor stood up from the springs and stretched. Lance’s eyes followed the water dripping down his back.

“Right,” said Lance with a vague air of distraction, “how can you tell?” Lance clambered out of the springs after Lotor.

“The lighting gets dimmer and then bright again every varga. No one told you?” Lotor stepped under the spray of the waterfall with a dramatic toss of his still very wet hair. Lance wiped the spray from his face with a fond huff.

“Nah. I guess they figured I already knew?” Lance shrugged and ran his hands through his hair as he rinsed off. “Anyway, what’s next?”

“The salon,” Lotor said gleefully. “I got the full hair care package, which comes with a pore treatment. You’ll love it.” Lotor pulled two towels from somewhere and promptly wrapped his hair up. He eyed the other towel doubtfully. “I suppose you don’t really need this.”

“Are you kidding me?” Lance cheered. “Gimme. The hair towel is a fundamental part of the experience.”

Lotor laughed delightedly and handed over the towel. “As you wish!”

———————————–

 _This is the best day I’ve had in… a while_ , Lance thought. His cosmetologist, Hr’ren, was massaging some purple goo into his hair and she was doing an amazing job. Lance was absolutely willing to believe everyone in this spa had magic hands at this point. He sank even further into the plush salon chair with a contented sigh.

This had been exactly what he’d needed. Something to get his mind off the current challenges of being a paladin of Voltron. _If you even are a real paladin_ , whispered a bitter voice in the back of his head. _NOPE_ , thought Lance forcefully. Today was a day for relaxation; he was absolutely not going to thinking about that. _Nope, nope, nope, nope_. That was a problem for, well, never ideally, but definitely not today. Relaxation was just a bit dangerous when it left him alone with his thoughts.

Lance pushed his thoughts in a less fraught direction. _What kind of Corredev would Lotor get_ , he wondered. He was pretty sure this was the final activity Lotor had mentioned, so next they’d be hitting up a tech store of some sort. Maybe it’d be his first visit to alien Best Buy. Altean currency wasn’t in circulation anymore, so shopping opportunities became a bit scarce, and it wasn’t like Lance had much to trade that he could afford to lose.

“So what do you do for fun,” Lance asked Hr’ren. Maybe she’d be more open to conversation now.

“I greatly enjoy my work in the salon,” chirped Hr’ren. Lance sighed. That was a no on personal conversation yet again. The ladies working here were perhaps just a bit too professional, in Lance’s opinion. Then again, Lance was definitely not the usual clientele of this place, so his opinion may not count for much.

“On Earth, do people often speak with their cosmetologists?” Lotor flicked his gaze over to Lance without moving his head.

“Oh, yeah.” said Lance, eyes widening with surprise, “it’s a pretty common thing. Why?”

“It’s considered rude to distract a professional at work, so that’s not really done here.” Lotor explained from his position in the chair next to Lance.

“Oh, whoops.” Lance laughed as a blush darkened his cheeks. “Ah well, live and learn,” he said flippantly.

Lotor hummed in agreement. “They do good work, distracted or not.”

“Very true,” Lance agreed with enthusiasm as Hr’ren gently washed out whatever mix of products was in his hair right now. Lance closed his eyes and basked in the feeling of someone else washing his hair. “Lotor, you have such great taste.”

“That is true.” Lance could practically hear Lotor preening. “Speaking of taste, what are you looking for in a Corredev?”

Lance hummed noncommittally. “I don’t really know? I’ve heard of them around, but I haven’t actually seen one before. I’ll be relying on your expertise yet again.”

“What would you do without me?” Lotor said smugly.

“I dunno,” Lance laughed, “waste away with dull skin and loneliness?”

“Your team doesn’t keep you company?”

Lance’s eyes snapped open and his gaze darted over to Lotor. “No!” Lance denied loudly over the sound of Hr’ren drying his hair. “They’re great. They’re definitely more than enough.” Lance hesitated. “It is kinda nice to have someone else though. I love them—I do!—but they don’t always necessarily understand stuff like this.” Lance gestured vaguely to the entire salon.

“Hmm,” said Lotor, clearly unconvinced. “Well, whatever your team is like, I welcome your company.” Lotor shot Lance a sly look. “Other Galra don’t understand spa days very well either,” he whispered conspiratorially.

Lance barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I can see that. Can you imagine Sendak in this salon?”

“Make my hair glossy for the glory of Zarkon!” growled Lotor. He laughed briefly. “Surely that is a likely occurrence.”

Lance cackled delightedly. “Oh man, Lotor, buddy, you are absolutely the best. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Lotor scoffed, “As if I would allow that. I am clearly the best, and I refuse to hear any slander as to otherwise.”

“Your hair is finished,” Hr’ren said cheerfully. “We hope to see you again soon!”

“Thank you,” said Lance, reaching for the provided mirror. Oh man, he looked amazing. A spa day was the best idea he’d ever had, clearly. Lance admired himself in the mirror for a fair while before he felt Lotor running his claws through Lance’s hair. He turned to look at Lotor questioningly.

“As much as I would wish otherwise, I do not have an unlimited amount of time to spend with you. We should go get your Corredev before we run out of time.” Was Lotor combing Lance’s hair with his fingers? Lance watched at the hairstyle taking shape beneath Lotor’s fingers through his mirror. He absolutely was.

Lance admired the flat, rather businesslike hairstyle Lotor had left him with for a bit and then hopped out of his chair to go find his clothing. “Well, then, let’s get going,” Lance cheered.

———————————–

 _Oh wow_ , Lance thought as he looked over the truly baffling array of Corredevs, _I am so glad Lotor is here_.

“I am so glad you are here,” Lance whispered to Lotor as he eyed something that looked like a glowing bouncy ball.

“I am wonderful to be around,” Lotor agreed, picking up a thick, square touchscreen with silicone-looking grips wrapped around two opposing edges. “What do you think of this one?” Lotor gave a bright smile as he handed it over to Lance.

“Looks perfect to me,” said Lance. It was the most phone-like thing in the room as far as he could see, which made it the best in Lance’s opinion.

“Excellent,” Lotor cheered. “It’s the model I prefer myself. You have excellent taste, Lance.” Lotor handed a stack of bills to the storekeeper while Lance was examining the phone.

Lance laughed brightly. “I could say the same about you.” Oh man, this model had a front facing camera. There was only one thing that could happen now. “You said you had this model?”

“And now, so do you!” Lotor handed Lance a box with a proud grin.

“Oh wow, that was… fast,” Lance said, pulling out his new Corredev. “I guess you weren’t kidding around about getting me one.”

“Your Corre tag is listed under settings,” Lotor explained, “and if you’ll hand it over, I’ll put my tag in your contacts.” Lotor stuck his hand out expectantly.

Lance laughed, just a bit baffled by how fast everything had happened, and handed over his brand new space phone to his new Galra friend. Real life was definitely stranger than fiction, in his case.

“Aaand there,” said Lotor with a self-satisfied grin. “You’re all ready to contact me whenever you miss my delightful company.” He handed the Corredev to Lance with a delighted flourish.

“Now there’s only one thing left to do to break my new phone in,” Lance said as he pulled Lotor close. “Post-spa selfie!” he cheered, throwing up a peace sign and smiling brightly. Lotor stared at the Corredev in confusion and limply held up two of his fingers in a sad mimicry of Lance. _This is definitely gonna be a keeper_ , Lance thought as he took the picture.

Lotor’s Corredev gave a series of harsh beeps. “That’s my signal to head back,” Lotor said with a disappointed sigh. “Looks like our time’s up.”

“We’ll definitely have to keep in touch,” Lance said, resting his hand on Lotor’s arm.

“Oh, definitely,” Lotor purred, “but I get the feeling I’ll be seeing you sooner or later. It’s been a pleasure, Lance.”

“Right back atcha,” Lance said lightly. “It’s been great; you’ve been great; and I can’t wait to see you again.” He started towards the hoverbike the princess had given him so he could get around without landing his lion in the middle of a metropolitan city and paused. “See ya later, Lotor.”

“Swift journey, Lance.” Lotor watched Lance speed off into the streets of Libenda before pulling out his Corredev. “Commander, send me an escort. It’s time to begin our next campaign.”

Lotor settled against the wall of the and thought of bright, sweet Lance. “This is going to be fun,” he told the open air with a smug smile. “I don’t plan to lose to anyone.”

**Author's Note:**

> the part about the communicator was inspired by your sickening desire by haarucchi also here on ao3, and also the art linked at the top of the fic. i hope you enjoyed my fic~


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